BigO

Back In The Day

The controller ports are also a little bit subject to damage from repeated connect/disconnect actions. I've seen more of those than failed cartridge ports (but a very small sample size). If extension cables are used (with or without a pretty panel), the controller could be connected/disconnected at an easily, externally replaceable junction point. Some might also find it convenient to be able to swap controllers without accessing the back side of the console. As far as how the connectors would be solidly presented at the front, I can think of at least a couple of options so I'm sure that you could come up with something workable. (Side note: I've found some wood-look vinyl plank flooring that makes a passable woodgrain panel overlay. Though not exactly Atari, it's way better than contact paper). Just a thought. Ignore without concern.

If you could work out a way to extend the controller ports to the front of the console with (short) cables and a panel of some sort, that might make a nice companion piece to this product. (Relevance: protecting the console controller ports)

To re-say another way what others have already said, the limit would depend on how you define the rooms in your code.

If there's room, I was wondering if it would richen the game play to have a maybe once-per-level last ditch possible-panic-save feature. Assuming that you don't already use the up/down directions: Since the joystick has 2 dimensions and the normal game play is 1 dimensional, maybe pushing the joystick up could give a brief, temporary speed boost to outrun the ghost when it's just barely going to catch you. - Sorta kinda like shields in Asteroids that deplete when used. - Or, like the for sure lesser-known, Colony 7 which has a once per level panic button that kills all of the enemies on the screen at once (I've only played the 2600 version). - Or, with a bit more complexity, like the Turbo Boost button in Galaxy Quest (movie) where holding the button down too long incurs dire consequences. "You don't hold the turbo down, it's for quick boosts!" Though, I'm not really sure what the Pac-Man equivalent would be for a cracked beryllium sphere. Maybe he is a beryllium sphere... (I suppose in the alternate don't-get-a-C&D-from-Namco version, this feature might be "a hit of catnip". 🙂)

When I first saw the game reveal on the ZPH YouTube channel, it occurred to me that this concept could probably be turned into a 1 Dimensional LED array game with different colors, brightness level, and flashing representing the various playfield elements and their various states: Pac, dots, power pellets, ghost. I'm not much of a Pac-Man player, but I'll have to give this a try.

I imagine that, from an operator perspective, the primary question would be about the cost, and terms, of leasing vs financing.

To quote the great Ralph Malph, "I still got it".

No. And I think I haven't thrown it out yet. I'll check when I get home.

I came here just now looking for the exact same functionality. I was thinking that if there were a filter list of forums to select under the Create Stream screen, that would do what I want. Or, in a more streamlined UI, a filter option for "Forums I follow" on the Create Steam screen.

Interesting.

A digital voltmeter takes x amount of time to sample and read what the voltage is. If there's an intermittent signal (or rapidly changing), the voltmeter may well just not be fast enough to know it's happening. Have you set a trigger on the logic probe to capture a small window of time and view that waveform stretched out to see if there are a bunch of high/low alternations in a short period of time? Probably more properly done with an oscilloscope. Caveat: I don't know off hand what the RIOT considers to be a LO input, but it's likely not clear down to 0 volts with respect to ground. If your logic probe has a lower threshold for LO than the RIOT chip, the logic analyzer may not even trigger even though the RIOT does see the signal as a LO. Desoldering the switch, or physically manipulating the switch still seems like a decent troubleshooting idea given the described symptoms. Maybe just turn the circuit board over so gravity isn't pulling downward (toward the active position) on the mechanical bits in the switch?

Yeah, I like that idea. Maybe it's just barely making contact when in the allegedly open position. Maybe just lifting up on the stem of the switch or pulling it outward or some other manipulation could indicate the mechanics of the switch to be the problem.

Just speculating, since I don't really have the answer. Maybe when it's in input mode there's an internal pullup on that RIOT pin that's failing? But you've changed the RIOT. I don't have the schematic available at the moment and haven't ever seen this problem myself. But, if I were trying to troubleshoot it, I might be tempted to try attaching a pullup resistor (10K or something pretty big) on that input line to see if that settles it down. I have no idea what you should do, but that's what I think I would do. As always, proceed at your own risk. Given that the line in question can't be attached to any peripheral devices through any ports, I would think its role should be pretty well nailed down to just an input, so I can't see how an external pullup would break any game functionality or how a pullup resistor would accidentally drive some transistor circuit unexpectedly. Still, why is it behaving this way? An oscilloscope or logic probe applied to the RIOT pin would show if some weird signal is getting applied. Maybe hit the RIOT with freezer spray while it's acting up? (Upside down "canned air" works for me on the rare occasion that I need it. Keep your appendages out of the stream.) Good luck.

I've used mine a fair amount for testing ICs while repairing old arcade machines.